Antarctica?.........That's the South Pole, right?: Ships ahoy!

6 weeks! 6 weeks left and then I’m back in the UK! The time that I’ve spent down here has gone by so quickly that it’s a bit strange to think that we are over halfway in our stay here. I’m starting to look forward to coming back, not because I’m getting bored but because of the things that I miss. Just simple things like taking the dogs for a walk in the woods and seeing trees and grass instead of snow and ice. The weirdest thing that I miss is my car. Not because I’m in love with my car or anything weird like that, but because it’s become a symbol of independence. Being able to do what you want, go where you want and do it when you want is something that you don’t get down here and it’s something I’m looking forward to the most when I get home.

When I signed off from my last post I was about to go boating in the waters around Rothera. We went round a few of the local islands and got to see some of the local wildlife up close. We stopped on one island that had a colony of blue eyed shags and their chicks and it was amazing but it also smelt terrible. It was probably a cross between a corpse and wet phys kit – the smell of someone who had been exercising very hard but had then keeled over due to poor health. We then went on to one of the larger islands where we have a little hut set up for overnight trips and for those trips the winterers go on. The island itself was only about a mile across but it had an abundance of wildlife which included a whole variety of seals, birds and penguins. Again it smelt like the first island. All I can imagine is that there is a group of highly unfit people touring round the islands off Rothera and dying, leaving an unbearable smell...

Elephant Seals fighting on Lagoon.

Blue Eyed Shags and chicks.

A couple of days ago Tom and I completed our Module 3 Field training, which is an advanced look at travelling across crevassed areas and crevasse rescue. It consists of a lot of abseiling and ascending using ropes, snow anchors and general mountaineering. This was all in preparation for going up to the radio repeater buttress on top of Reptile Ridge and swapping over the batteries. O to the M to the G. We had to shift eight batteries which were similar to the ones in cars and weighed a fabulous 32kg each. What the hell... I never want to see those bastard things again. Ever. The worst part about it was that the snow on top of the ridge was all sugary and you sank up to your knees whenever you walked anywhere and with an extra 32kgs added you sank even further. I can’t complain too much though as we were spared the horrors of lugging them to the top of the Ridge by the Helicopters of the Polar Stern. The Polar Stern is a German science ship similar to the ones that BAS operate and it had decided to pay us a visit for the day, which meant we were able to be quite cheeky and pinch their helicopters. They were only small five seat things but they did the job and it was pretty cool to get airlifted up and it meant I got to see the base from a completely different perspective. For all the grumbling and cursing Tom and I did whilst shifting those things we had a truly awesome time and it definitely beats working in the office hands down.

On the Ridge with the repeater in the background.

In the Crevasse below Reptile Ridge.

At the time of writing, the Laurence M Gould an American science ship is alongside the wharf here at Rothera and tonight is the legendary Gould night. The Gould visits Rothera each year and the base tries to make it into a big occasion which helps keep morale high. Today half the base went onboard and went for a trip around the local islands for half the day. Some of the more dedicated (for dedicated read unfortunate) ones of us had work to do and so I’ve been stuck flight following in the tower all morning. I’ve just been chatting to Mike out of my cabin window after he arrived back from his jolly and he was carrying a coke cup, the sort you get in McDonalds. Not fair! It turns out they have a free coke vending machine on board and they also have as much cookies as you can eat. It just keeps getting better... Then he said they had fillet steak with asparagus for lunch with white magnums for dessert. I could have punched him! Luckily for him I couldn’t reach him.

Next on the agenda for today is the annual football (not soccer...) match, where the Gould ask for a good spanking and we happily oblige. Then we play the match... I was chatting to some of the guys when Doug brought them up and showed them the tower and they were telling me that they know they are going to lose but they just play to humour us. Looking at the preparation that’s gone into the match it does make me laugh: the football team has spent the last month in training for this day in order to play a team of people who don’t play the sport and haven’t got the space to even run on the deck. I don’t know what we’re worried about, still, I guess it would be pretty funny if we then went and lost...

Tonight is the night to end all nights. The infamous, within BAS, Gould night party in the Garage. Basically it’s the same as New Year’s except bigger because of the addition of about 30 or so people from the Gould. It’s also legendary because of the number of new females on base which means that sharking levels go through the roof. Supposedly the day after Gould night is the worst for morale as all the men on base who are hoping to get lucky fail miserably and wake up with nothing to show but a sore head. Tonight is also the night that the Dom Savage Experience plays their biggest gig. We’ve learnt even more songs and remember to save some back for an encore so that we don’t look like a bunch of specials – again... We are also changing the name to The Ross No More Project in honour of Ross who, unfortunately, has been sent to Sky Blu for a few weeks much to his disappointment. Hopefully everything will all go to plan and I’ll maybe have a few stories to tell when I next write – the less incriminating the better...

A few photos of the local residents: